Adarsh: Activists want FIR against Sushilkumar Shinde

Union energy minister Sushilkumar Shinde may have some trouble in store for him. Activists Simpreet Singh and Santosh Daundkar, on Saturday, filed complaints with the Anti-Corruption Bureau and demanded that an FIR be filed against Shinde along with other state officials for their role in the Adarsh housing society scam.

Alleging massive irregularities by state officials, activists accused Shinde of violating the Election Commission’s code of conduct in the process.

Simpreet Singh, who first lodged a complaint against the society, said, “Documents available show that Shinde had colluded with senior state officials to ensure that 51 flat allotments in Adarsh were cleared by 11 officials in a single day, including the chief minister himself. This was because the EC’s code of conduct set in the next day.”

Singh alleged that their actions should have been null since the state finally passed an order of allotment only the next day, which was August 24, 2004, on the day that the code of conduct came into effect.

Shinde could not be contacted for his reaction despite repeated efforts.

Singh also said that the order for allotting the land, on which Adarsh stands, at concessional rates was also issued after the code of conduct had set in.

“The code of conduct for the elections set in on August 23, 2004, whereas the order for allotting the land at concessional rates to Adarsh was approved by Shinde on September 16, 2004.”

Advocate YP Singh said, “In no way could any order be issued for giving concessional allotment of land at 20% of the market value. Later, it was reduced to even lower, which was again illegal as it was done without the permission of the revenue department.”

Training their guns on then principal secretary Subhash Lalla, Simpreet Singh alleged, “Lalla has two flats in the controversial building. He claimed that his mother was a member of the military engineering services, whereas the collector’s inquiry found that she was a housewife. Secondly, at both places Lalla has mentioned two different figures as her income.”